Sophia Loren, born Sofia Villani Scicolone on September 20, 1934, is a legendary actress, snaggin’ Academy Awards and known as Italy’s biggest star.

She came up in Rome, daughter of engineer Riccardo Scicolone and wannabe actress/piano teacher Romilda Villani, who weren’t hitched. Loren grew up dirt-poor in wartime Pozzuoli near Naples, crammed in a tiny spot with her sister Maria, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. She’s said plenty of times that the struggle gave her grit to make it big and cherish every second of life. Till she was about 14, folks called her an ugly duckling, but then she blossomed into a stunner.

At 15, in 1949, Loren rolled to Rome and, a year later, started her film gig with small roles in low-key Italian flicks. In ’51, she and her mom were extras in Quo Vadis, gettin’ her a quick taste of Hollywood. She also played Aida in Aida (1953), with her singing dubbed by opera star Renata Tebaldi, which got Cecil B. DeMille’s attention – he said you could “build mountains around that girl.”

Loren helped her mom and sister by modelin’ for weekly romantic photo stories, fumetti or fotoromanzi, under names like Sofia Villani or Sofia Lazzaro. She also hit up local beauty contests, rackin’ up some wins.